When she'd sent Wham, Tarkus, and Domenico back to Italy – Tarkus in particular being eager to get back to his seemingly endless sparring with Wham – she'd almost been expecting it when Domenico had asked for a couple days' leave to reconnect with Enrico at Dio's mansion, and granting it was a simple matter of contacting Caesar and letting him know that Domenico was going to be away from Italy for at least a few days. She'd also made sure to let him know that Mariah was going to be meeting with him, since she'd taken the offer of employment that Alice had made her when the pair of them had met.

Once the remainder of their group had returned to Dio's mansion again, Alice allowed herself to relax from the state of determined alertness that she'd had to remain in while confronting Enya and her band of mercenary Stand users. Sure, physical tension wasn't a problem for a vampire like her or Dio, but mental tension was of course a different story. It was good to be back, under the circumstances.

Making her way back to the room that Dio had built and furnished for her to use while she stayed in this particular mansion, Alice smiled slightly as she saw the shelf full of model planes and aircraft that Dio had obviously collected for her when he had been decorating the room for her. The shelf itself stretched the length of the wall on the left side of the room, and came up to Alice's waist when she made her way over to examine it.

=SC=

When he and the rest of his weird family – and Aunt Alice, of course – had all made their way back to Uncle Dio's mansion again, Jotaro had found himself feeling a lot more settled about things. Looks like Pucci knew what he was talking about, he mused, smirking as he made his way back to the kitchen to fix himself something to eat. The sound of fluttering wings drew his attention, just as Star tossed a neatly-sliced bit of ham over his left shoulder.

Chuckling softly as he glanced over at the perch where Pet Shop had landed, Jotaro turned his attention back to what he was actually going to eat.

When he'd finally decided on fixing himself a steak topped with sautéed mushrooms, the sound of hurried footsteps – familiar footsteps – brought Jotaro up short, just as Star had finished bringing him a cutting board, a steak knife, and the wrapped cuts of meat that Uncle Dio had stocked his fridge with.

"Jotaro, honey, I'm so glad that you and Uncle Dio had a good time out there," Mom said, and Jotaro could see her smiling brightly through Star's eyes as she hugged him from behind. "Now, what- Oh, here, let me fix that for you, sweetie!" she said, gently nudging him aside as she hurried to put on one of the brightly colored aprons hanging from a trio of hooks on the far wall.

"Mom, I can-"

"Oh, don't worry about it, sweetie," Mom said, grinning all the wider as she came back with a pink polka dotted apron firmly tied around her waist. "You just let me take care of everything!"

Coughing into his right fist to hide a smile, Jotaro left the kitchen; he knew that there was no point in trying to argue with Mom when she was in one of these moods of hers. He'd tried it once, and once was enough to know just how futile that kind of thing was.

=SC=

Taking a deep breath as she started gathering and preparing all the spices for the sauce that Jotaro liked on his steak, Holly set out the mushrooms that Jotaro had clearly been about to cut up for himself before he started them sautéing. Tossing them all up into the air, she hit them with a few Hamon-charged taps of her fingers, smiling as the remains of the dirt that had been clinging to them exploded out into the air with a soft poof. Evening out her breathing again, she tossed the mushrooms back into the air, hitting them with precise bursts of Hamon to cut them neatly apart.

Making her way over to the large refrigerator at the far end of the kitchen, Holly got out a stick of butter, carried it over to the rack of cookware so that she could pick up a frying pan, set it down near the bowl of mushrooms that she'd previously prepared, sliced it in half, then set that half in the pan so that it could heat up while she put back the butter. Picking up a slotted spoon so that she'd be able to stir both the butter and the mushrooms as they cooked, Holly smiled just that much wider as she made her way back to the stove again.

Jotaro was such a good boy, trying to give her a break by cooking for himself.

=SC=

The sound of fluttering wings drew his attention, and Jotaro glanced over at the perch by the coffee table for a long moment, before a slight tug on the back of his head drew his attention to what Pet Shop was really doing.

"Stop trying to preen my hair," he said, turning so he could give an annoyed glare at the falcon as it perched on the back of the couch he'd been lounging on.

Pet Shop gave him his usual unimpressed look, fluffing his feathers up before beginning to preen himself. Rolling his eyes, Jotaro settled back down on the couch. Lifting up his left arm so that the falcon could land on it, Jotaro moved him over to the perch that had been set up in the huge sitting room, beside the coffee table he was sitting at. A lot of places had been set up in the house for Pet Shop, since the falcon was pretty much given the run of anywhere that Uncle Dio lived, or that was what Jotaro had heard from Aunt Alice when he'd asked her about that kind of thing.

"My hair just does that," he said, in response to a disapproving caw from the falcon perching to his left. "I brushed it this morning."

Turning back to the small shelf of books that had been set by the coffee table he was seated at, Jotaro flipped through them and picked out one of the Calvin and Hobbes collection that stuck out from the shelf. Chuckling softly as he opened the book, Jotaro settled back into the couch.

=SC=

When he, Dio, had seen the control that his adorable Littlest Jojo had demonstrated over the Stand that had been granted to him by the efforts that he had gone to when he'd paid his first visit to his sweet little puppy's grave, he'd found himself rather pleased by the whole matter. However, there was also something else that he, Dio, could do for his cute Littlest Jojo. To that end, he'd gone in search of Little Lori and her adorable boyfriend.

The pair of them, and in particular their Stands, would provide some amusement for the his Littlest Jojo, and perhaps the pair of them, as well.

He'd eventually managed to find the pair of them in the shaded balcony that he'd had set up, in preparation for the garden that he'd been setting up for those who would be coming to the spa that he would soon be running, and he, Dio, found himself smiling as he paused for a moment to watch his Little Lori painting while her adorable boyfriend sat next to her with the look of someone who was enthralled by what he was seeing happen. Moving closer he, Dio, found that Little Lori was painting her own interpretation of the garden that he and his underlings were slowly working to create as a place where those who would eventually come to his spa would be able to enjoy alongside those members of his family that would be staying in this mansion of his when the spa of his was up and fully functioning.

It was a rather beautiful thing, he had to admit.

Pausing to await the completion of the work that Little Lori was pouring so much of her heart and time into, knowing from his own time spent with his sweet sister when she had had the time to paint for her own enjoyment he, Dio, smiled as he continued on his way over to Little Lori's side.

"That's a wonderful painting, Little Lori," he, Dio, said as he stepped over to where the pair of them were seated, looking out over the expanse of the freshly-planted garden.

He, Dio, had little enough interest in what an average human would have seen when they looked over the expanse, but there was a certain sense of promise about each and every one of the young trees, shrubs, and flowers that had been planted in elegant, sweeping patterns throughout the expanse. He could see what this place would become, given enough time to grow and he, Dio, rather enjoyed the thought.

"Thanks," Little Lori said, pausing for a moment as she recalled just what it was that he, Dio, had said to her so many times before. "Dio. Was there something else you wanted to talk about?"

"Indeed," he said, smiling brightly as he caught sight of the interested expression beginning to appear on the adorable face of her boyfriend. "There is something that I, Dio, wish to speak to the both of you about."

Moving to stand between the pair of them he, Dio, leaned in with a conspiratorial smile on his face.

=SC=

He'd moved into the dining room when Mom had brought out the steak he'd been about to cook for himself, and the sound of Pet Shop's fluttering wings had brought a a small half-smile to his face, even though he knew just what it was that the falcon was interested in. Tossing a bit of the steak he was eating to Pet Shop as the falcon fluttered over his head to land on the nearby perch, Jotaro chuckled softly as he cracked open the bottle of root beer that Mom had brought out for him. Before he could take another bite, however, the prickling sense of anticipation began creeping up his spine.

Looking around at the room he was seated in, even as Star appeared beside him with his fists raised, Jotaro found that it was just as empty as it was when he'd made his way into the room: just him, Pet Shop, and now Star himself. Though there was still the sense that someone or other was watching him, Jotaro couldn't tell just what it was that they were planning to do, if anything. Sighing heavily as he called Star back, Jotaro tried to settle himself back down at the table again.

There was no point in letting whoever this was ruin the meal that he was eating, since it didn't really seem like they were going to attack him or anything.

Once he'd finished his meal, Jotaro went to put his dishes in the sink, then called Star back to his side as he made his way back through the mansion. There was still that prickle of anticipation that had settled between his shoulder blades – just below his neck – that let Jotaro know that he hadn't really managed to escape from whoever it was that was stalking him. Well, whoever it was that'd been setting off his nerves while he'd been trying to eat dinner.

Making his way out into the garden that Uncle Dio had clearly laid out and had planted, Jotaro jerked in surprise as he felt something slamming into his back. Whipping around as fast as he could, he saw something that looked like some kind of catlike thing – something that was probably another Stand, since it was way too brightly colored to be any kind of cat that he'd ever seen – was standing up in the branches of the closest tree to where he was standing. Narrowing his eyes as he caught sight of just what it was that the other Stand was holding in its mouth-

"Give me my hat!" he shouted, even as Star dashed forward to grab the Stand.

The damned thing was just that much faster than his own Stand, though, and so it managed to skip out of the range of Star's arms as he reached for the thing, turning to make a run back into the mansion. Following in Star's footsteps as the pair of them chased that bastard of a Stand that had stolen his hat, Jotaro found himself being led into one of the unfurnished rooms that had some kind of a purpose that he didn't really know or care about. There were two other people sitting there; well, only the girl was actually sitting.

The bishonen-looking guy in the green school uniform was just leaning casually against the far wall; that catlike thing must have been his Stand, given the smug way the thing had been perching in the tree just before Star had made a lunge for it, curled up next to the girl and just sort of wagging its tail.

=SC=

The sight of the kid rushing into the room where he'd prepared his Stand – Mr. Brando, who insisted that everyone call him Dio, which still felt a bit too informal for Noriaki so early, had said that he was going to ask someone to help him and Loreena name them – brought a slight smile to his face.

"All right, I've found you!" Jotaro snarled – actually snarled, which almost made Noriaki chuckle – as he stomped into the room that he and Loreena were staying in. "Now give me back my hat!"

Wow, he really does like that hat of his, Noriaki mused, trying as hard as he could not to start snickering; the way Loreena was already doing, prompting Jotaro to glare at her. Jotaro's own Stand, a big purple barbarian-looking thing with long, waving hair and what looked like some kind of fancy boots, was still trying to grab for Loreena's Stand as it jumped around on the tendrils that Noriaki's own Stand had lined the room. It seemed, however, that Jotaro's Stand was just that much slower than Loreena's own.

It also looked like Loreena's Stand was also fast enough to make it look like it was doing some kind of ninja trick; almost like there was actually more than one of it.

=SC=

Grinding his teeth as that damned bishonen's damned cat Stand dashed out of the range of Star's fists, the brim of his hat still firmly clenched in the thing's mouth, Jotaro called Star back to his side. Storming over to the bishonen – who seemed to be on the verge of outright laughing it him, and who as a consequence he really wanted to punch in the face – he narrows his eyes at the small smirk that settles firmly on the annoying bastard's face.

"Give me my damned hat back, already," he snarls in response to that smirk, and grinds his teeth again when all it prompts in return as a chuckle.

"Wow, he really wasn't kidding about you and that hat of yours," the annoying bishonen said.

And didn't it just fucking figure that he'd have his hands in this, too. "Uncle Dio put you up to this," he grumbled, knowing that this was just the kind of stupid thing that either his uncle or the Old Man would have been responsible for.

Hell, maybe the both of them had been in on it; it was in character for either of them, and so there was no real way of knowing just who'd been responsible for this pain-in-the-ass plan in the first place.

"He's your uncle?" the girl who'd been sitting on the floor asked, having stood up just as he'd come into the room, the melon-man looking Stand that was probably hers forming the top half of its body out of those green tendrils that had been strung all around the ceiling of the room, looking down at him with that alien face of its.

"It's a long story," he said. "Now give me back my hat," he snapped, holding out his right hand as he called Star back to his side again.

"All right," the blonde girl said, laughing softly as she beckoned to- the cat that had been holding the brim of his hat in its mouth for as long as the three of them had been talking.

"Wait, that was your Stand?" he asked, looking from the green melon-man to the cat that had just given him his hat back. "You stole my hat?"

"I didn't think you would actually chase me for it," the girl said, laughing softly as her Stand made its way back over to where she was standing, sitting down next to her and wagging its tail.

"Well, I guess we know better now," the bishonen said, though there was a look on his face that Jotaro didn't particularly like.

Nearly before he could blink, Jotaro found his hat yanked right off his head – again! – this time by that damned melon-man Stand that the bishonen had clearly sent out after him just because he was being a bastard.

"Hey!" he snapped, just as the blonde girl yelled what seemed to be the bishonen's name, sending Star after the melon-man that had grabbed his hat right off of his head, holding it in its hands and looking like it was actually taunting him as it clung to the wall near the ceiling. "Bastard!"

=SC=

The sound of the phone ringing drew Holly's attention, just as she'd been making her way to the room that Uncle Dio had directed her to while she and her family were staying with him at his mansion in Cairo, and Holly almost immediately found that same phone right in her hand just as she'd been considering picking it up. Gaping for a moment, as she looked down at the phone in her right hand, Holly sighed briefly and put it to her ear.

"Hello?" she paused, waiting for a moment as the familiar voice on the other end of the line answered her. "Oh, Straizo! It's nice to hear from you again! Did you want to speak to Aunt Alice?" she paused again, nodding. "All right, I'll go get her!"

Hurrying up the stairs, after having gotten confirmation from Straizo as to what Aunt Alice's retainer wanted from her, Holly laughed softly; Straizo had actually sounded frazzled as he was talking to her. And, while Holly knew that it wasn't nice to laugh at that kind of thing, but with the way that Straizo was always so calm and collected when he talked, hearing some actual emotion in his voice couldn't help but be funny. At least a little bit, anyway.

=SC=

The sound of a familiar set of footsteps making their way up to her door drew Alice's attention, just as she'd finished examining the well-stocked bookshelves perpendicular to the wall that held the model plane, airship, and spacecraft collection that Dio had assembled for her either before or after he'd gotten himself and Joseph banned for life from FAO Schwarz, and Alice made for the door once again.

"Holly," she greeted, smiling and then raising an eyebrow as she way the expression on the younger woman's face. "What's on your mind?"

"Straizo is on the phone for you," Holly said, obviously trying not to burst into outright laughter as the pair of them spoke to each other.

"Well, then, I suppose I should go find out what he wants," she said, though she was beginning to suspect just what it was that had been getting to her retainer; really, there were few enough things that could.

Once she'd made her way down to the phone, settled neatly on the table – ornate as everything in Dio's mansions tended to be – Alice picked it back up.

"He's getting antsy again, isn't he?" she asked, in a tone that said that she was already fully aware of what was going on.

"Yes," Straizo said, her retainer's tone actually noticeably tight with tension; it was the kind of thing that no one who didn't know him as well as she and hers did would likely be able to hear, but it was there all the same. "He's been getting underfoot to a much greater extent than usual."

"I suppose I should speak to Dio, then," she said, knowing how her brother felt about dogs in general – and Iggy in particular – but also fully aware that Iggy was devious enough to find his own way to get to her if she didn't bring him over soon. "Everything else aside, Iggy's not the patient type."

"Yes," Straizo said, and she could just see him narrowing his eyes in annoyance; either that, or he was glaring down at Iggy.

"Iggy," she said sharply, in response to the excited barking that she could hear on the other end of the line. "I know this kind of thing isn't easy for you, but I want you to keep a lid on it until I send for you. Understand?" narrowing her eyes in response to the distinctly wheedling whining coming more clearly over their connection, as Iggy presumably lifted himself up to the level of the receiver with that sand-construct that was presumably his Stand.

Glancing down the hall as another set of familiar footfalls began making their way closer to where she currently was, Alice raised an eyebrow as she caught sight of Avdol.

"Ms. Brando, it seems as though we will soon be joined by a rather troublesome presence," said the Egyptian that her capricious twin had set his sights on for the present; though it wasn't as if she couldn't see why.

"Another of your Tarot readings?" she asked, feeling rather amused; it certainly seemed as though those kind of things had a great deal more sway here and now than they'd had Before.

At least, given what she could still remember from Before.

"Yes," Avdol said, smiling gently as he began shuffling those cards of his once more. "However, it also seems as though we will soon be meeting new people, as well."

"Something auspicious, it sounds like," she said, leaning against the wall beside the table that the phone had been set up on top of.

"Indeed," Avdol nodded, the calm smile on his face growing just that much wider. "The pair of them will be coming to this place in search of answers, but if we welcome them as friends, then we will be able to gain steadfast and dedicated allies for the future."

"That's good to know," she said, cradling the phone and wondering for a long moment just who it was that was going to show up at their place next.

Still, the fact that it wasn't going to end up being another one of Enya's hired goons was a good thing, at least.

=SC=

"Has the image at the back changed?" his brother asked, as the pair of them pressed on through the streets of Cairo.

Flipping to the back of his comic again, Oingo found himself staring at the four-armed goddess that had been on the back-cover of his comic ever since Thoth had first manifested itself. "Yeah; it seems like we're on the path that Fate wants us to take."

"All right," his brother said, nodding sharply as he made the decision that Fate was leading them to. "Who are we going to meet when we make it to this mansion?"

Flipping back to the next page that had been revealed, Oingo studied it. "A woman is going to be the first one that we see when we get there," he said, wondering if the flowering vines that he could see wrapped around her arms and behind her head like a halo was her Stand, or just meant that she was a kind person.